The present invention relates to a floor covering that includes panels having a core of a plastic material and at least one cover layer covering the upper side of the core, with the panels being provided with complementary and mutually engaging locking profiles at their connected lateral edges.
Floor coverings of the above kind exist in a large variety of embodiments. For example, panels with a core of wood material like MDF or HDF are very common. On top of the core there is usually a decor layer showing the appearance of wood. This decor layer is in turn covered by a transparent wear layer that is resistant against wear and may consist of a plastic material or a resin. The bottom side of the panel is formed by a back pull layer to prevent a deformation of the panel body.
Moreover, floor panels comprising a core of a plastic material like PU (Polyurethane) or PVC (Polyvinylchloride) are recently available. Compared to panels of wood materials, these panels provide the advantage of a higher elasticity and improved characteristics in use, for example, with respect to sound dampening. Usually these panels of plastic materials comprise at their upper sides at least one cover layer that covers the upper side of the core. The connection between two panels is usually provided by locking profiles at their lateral edges that are shaped complementary to each other and that engage with each other according to a tongue and groove connection. This means that adjacent panels can be held together in a way that their upper sides join tightly and without forming spaces between each other.
The market recently demands an embodiment of panels with a tile-like appearance, with the panels divided visually by grooves. For this purpose a groove appearance was printed onto the upper side of the panel and formed as a depression by pressing so that the groove is also haptically perceivable. However, this processing does not always lead to satisfying results. First of all, wider and deeper grooves with a realistic appearance cannot be reproduced with the above described processing. It is desired to provide a floor covering that imitates tiles divided by grooves by means of the above mentioned panels with a core of a plastic material.